Linked
by The Ambitious Blank
Summary: COMPLETE! Naruto and Sasuke are chained together, to "improve team morale". Of course, nothing good can come of it.. (Humor, SasuNaru in later chapters.)
1. Sunday

  
**Linked**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer**- Naruto isn't mine. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and all them other people who I can't bother to remember the names of. :D   
**Comments**- ..dear god, is this what I think it is? Hell yes it is! It's a humor fic!   
  
...   
  
..omfg I think the world is ending. Anyway, yeah, it's a humor fic. I have a good sense of humor, really, it's just I don't usually write it in fic form. I give my ideas to The Carpet Shampoo and let her use them. XP So.. I'm gonna fly solo for once. A fair amount of cursing in this fic, otherwise, no real severe warnings.. shounen-ai and all that, of course. There will probably be more serious, but fluffy, moments later on. (I think I'll go commit honorable suicide now.. no, not even that. I have lost all honor in writing this. Sigh.) So, have fun~   
  
~*~**Sunday - And So It Begins...**   
****   
Naruto and Sasuke were arguing again.   
  
Unfortunately, they didn't realize that their arguments were what started their whole predicament.   
  
"You're so stupid, Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted. "Get off your high horse and just.. just.. stop being a moron!"   
  
"You're such a dumbass." Sasuke muttered in reply, which, of course, only got the Uzumaki boy even more angry. He was just about to reach for his kunai when Sakura, who was standing nearby and had been watching them for a few minutes, intervened.   
  
"H-hey, guys.." She said, looking a little nervous, as both the Genin had their hands going for their kunai pouches. "This isn't such a good idea, you two really shouldn't be killing each other.. you're teammates, after all."   
  
"Who cares?!" They both snapped at her, and she recoiled back, quickly hurrying off to find someone a little less dangerous to hang out with. The two boys glared after her and then began to storm down the street, side by side.   
  
"Look, you idiot, stop following me!" Sasuke snapped. Naruto glared daggers at him.   
  
"I'm not _following_ you, stupid!" He growled in reply. "I have to go this way to get to the ramen bar!"   
  
"Fuck your ramen!" Sasuke retorted harshly. Naruto jerked as if the other had stricken him, and then stared at him, giving him the 'oh no you didn't' look.   
  
"You did NOT just say 'fuck your ramen'.."   
  
"And if I did?" The Uchiha scoffed in reply. Naruto was just about to tackle him, when suddenly, it happened.   
  
Kakashi crept up behind them, book in one hand, a strange metal object in the other. He gleefully snapped said metal object around the two boys' wrists, and when they looked down, they noticed that it was a pair of handcuffs. Kakashi skittered off, leaving the two boys staring dumbfoundedly at the handcuffs that now chained them together. Attached to them was a large yellow post-it note, with Kakashi's handwriting on it. Sasuke read it slowly, as if afraid of what it might say.   
  
"Your mission for the next two days is to try and get along with each other to improve team morale. Signed, Kakashi."   
  
There was dead silence between the two for a very, very long time, before Naruto muttered exactly what they were both thinking.   
  
"Oh, shit."   
  
~*~   
  
Of course, right away, there was disagreement.   
  
"I have to go this way, you retard!" Sasuke snapped as he tugged on the chains, trying to pull Naruto towards his house.   
  
"Yeah, well I'm still hungry, so we're going this way, you selfish bastard!" Naruto yelled back, pulling in exactly the opposite direction. They looked almost as if they were from an episode of Looney Tunes, pulling futilely against one another to try and go in different directions. After about twenty minutes of the two stubborn boys pulling on one another, they both collapsed to the ground, back to back, exhausted.   
  
"Alright, alright, you dumbass, we'll go get your stupid ramen first.. but then we go to my house, okay?" Sasuke said, panting softly. Naruto scowled, but nodded.   
  
"Fine then."   
  
The two climbed to their feet with some difficultly, carefully having to synchronize their movements in order to be able to push off the ground, considering the handcuffs limited their arm movement. So, still chained together, they began walking towards the Ichiraku Noodle Bar.   
  
[ A/N: It is Ichiraku, right? x.x;;; ]   
  
"Hey, Sasuke, are you alright being seen like this?" Naruto asked, looking down at the chain that connected them. Sauske snorted.   
  
"It's not like I have a choice, dumbass."   
  
"True!" The blonde chirped annoyingly, and smiled. "Besides, we can just tell them it's a special mission."   
  
Sasuke stared at him incredulously.   
  
"And who the hell would be dumb enough to believe that?!" He snapped, glaring. Naruto wasn't paying attention. Sakura had just come up to them again, having seen that they weren't arguing for a second.   
  
"Hey, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!" Sakura greeted them cheerfully. Her green eyes shifted downward, and she blinked at the sight of the handcuffs.   
  
"Umm.. why the hell are you two chained together?" She asked, crossing her arms and glaring at Naruto, her face demanding an explaination. Naruto shrugged.   
  
"It's a mission from Kakashi-sensei. He said we were supposed to improve team.. team.. umm.. what was it again, Sasuke?" The blonde turned to glance at the taller boy, who rolled his eyes.   
  
"Morale, stupid." He said, snorting.   
  
"Right! Morale!" Naruto said, beaming at Sakura, who blinked once and then nodded.   
  
"Oh, okay then. Well, I hafta go find Ino, so I'll see you two later!" She smiled at Sasuke and skipped away. Sasuke just stared.   
  
_Or maybe there are some people dumb enough to believe it. _He thought, blinking. _Tch. Figures._   
__   
"Huh? Somethin' wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto peered into his teammate's face, and Sasuke glared, pushing him back as far as the handcuffs would allow.   
  
"Nothing. Let's just go get your damn ramen."   
  
"Okay! But, umm.. by the way, Sasuke, you wouldn't happen to have any money on you, would you..?"   
  
~*~   
  
Three bowls of ramen later, (all of which were now settling in Naruto's stomach), the connected teammates began walking back toward the Uchiha manor.   
  
"I can't believe you didn't have any money, you idiot. What were you planning to do, eat and run?" Sasuke demanded, glaring at the Uzumaki boy. Naruto cringed a little at his harsh tone, shaking his head furiously.   
  
"No, actually, I was planning on going to Iruka's house and asking him for some, but then I got stuck to you and I figured you wouldn't wanna see anyone else 'cause we're stuck like this." He held up both their wrists, and Sasuke stared glumly at the chain that still held them together. Naruto lowered their hands again.   
  
"It's not like I asked to be stuck to you, you know." Sasuke muttered. "But we'll stay at my house tonight, alright? It's getting late and I don't feel like being out here in the open like this anymore.. we'll see about getting these off tomorrow."   
  
"Yeah, sure." Naruto shrugged. "I guess it won't be so bad, I've always kinda wanted to be in a big house like yours."   
  
They stopped in front of the gate in front of the manor, and Sasuke unlocked it, leading Naruto through, and then turned and locked it again. He'd installed a chain lock on this gate for the constant swarm of girls that visited his house, becoming worried they might start stealing his stuff. Or parts of his house. Or himself, for that matter.   
  
Sweatdrop.   
  
"Wow, what a big house!" Naruto said, as the two removed their shoes and stepped up onto the polished wooden floors. He glanced to Sasuke increduously. "How do you keep everything so clean?"   
  
"Because I don't consider my floor a huge garbage can, unlike some people I know." Sasuke retorted, heading for the kitchen, dragging the blonde behind him.   
  
"Hey! I'll have you know those broken up ramen cups make very good flooring!" Naruto protested, as Sasuke unwrapped some foil from a plate, revealing some _onigiri._[1] He held one out to Naruto.   
  
"Want one?" He asked. Naruto peered at it closely, raising an eyebrow at Sasuke.   
  
"What poison did you put in them?" He asked, suspiciously. He was half-joking, and half-not. It was really hard to tell whether putting poison in food and offering it to so-called friends was Sasuke's style or not. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.   
  
"They're not poison, they're bonito.[2]" He took a bite out of it, showing the center to Naruto, who peered at it closely. Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept eating at it. "See? I'm not dying."   
  
"Yeah, but poison takes a lot of time to sink in.." Naruto said, and was immediately thwapped on the head. Sasuke glared at him.   
  
"You moron. If it was poison, I wouldn't be eating it."   
  
"Oh, yeah!" Naruto said, blinking and reaching for one. "Okay, I'll try it." He bit into the riceball, and almost immediately spat it out into the sink, earning himself a dirty look from Sasuke.   
  
"Y'know, if the cooking's bad, the least you could do is swallow your first bite." Sasuke snorted, looking a little miffed. Naruto shrugged.   
  
"It's not _bad_, it's just.. well, y'know, I've been eating ramen almost all my life.." Naruto explained, trailing off. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Really, the sentence wouldn't make much sense to most people, but the Uchiha had been around the Uzumaki long enough to be able to translate the "Naruto-ese". Sighing, Sasuke moved to go down the hallway.   
  
"You're such a moron. Well, either eat it or throw it out, Naruto.. I'm tired and ready for bed." He said. Naruto nodded and quickly ate the rest of the _onigiri._ Sasuke headed down the hall and went into his bedroom. Upon reaching it, Naruto frowned a bit.   
  
"Umm, Sasuke? How exactly are we supposed to change out of our clothes..?"   
  
~*~   
  
Sasuke lay awake, staring at the ceiling.  
  
_SNOORRRRRRRR._   
__   
"Dammit.. I don't know whether to wake him up or just kill him." Sasuke muttered, glaring at the figure that lay beside him. The two were spaced apart as far as the damned handcuffs would allow. Luckily, Sasuke had a pretty big bed, so they both fit in it and still had room for themselves. Unluckily, Naruto snored, drooled, and talked in his sleep.   
  
"Damn you, Sasuke.. stupid bastard.." The blonde groaned, rolling over. Sasuke sighed and pressed his head to the pillow, trying to fall asleep. Of course, he was trained to be a light sleeper, and would awaken at the slightest sound.. so how the hell was he expected to _sleep _in these conditions?!   
  
Eventually, it got extremely late in the evening, and Sasuke couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, snores or not. So he fell asleep, his last thought despairing.   
  
_This is gonna be a long, long two days.._   
  
~*~**To Be Continued...**   
  
Alright, so it wasn't incredibly, laugh-out-loud funny, but fairly amusing.. ^^; Hopefully, some good antics will come up in later chapters.. reviews are good! Encourage me! It's not often I write humor, after all.. xD   
  
~TAB 


	2. Monday

**

* * *

Linked**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer**- Naruto still isn't mine. How many times have I said this now?   
**Comments- **Bleh, sorry it took so long for me to spit chapter two of this out. I had really wanted to finish up "Forget Me Not" first. ; And then I had to prepare for FanimeCon, and now I'm trying to plan a local con with my friend.. uh, right, anyway.   
  
..meheh, yes.. I did forget to put what the numbers were in the last chapter.   
[1] _Onigiri_- Umm.. a riceball, basically. Sometimes shaped into a rounded triangle thing.. you see it all the time in anime. ; Like.. in Pokemon.. but they called it a donut. I think they're on crack.   
[2] Bonito- I don't think that's the Japanese term for it, but bonito is bluefish, all dried and flaky. ; I read that Sasuke likes his _onigiri_ with bonito filling. So.. yeah. That's what he cooks. Isn't he a genius. oO;   
  
Yeah, I think I'll just shut up now.   
  
----**Monday- Escape? Maybe Not.**   
****   
Naruto awoke and rolled over, looking at the boy he was supposed to be stuck to for today and the next day. Sasuke was so pretty, lying there, still asleep. Unbeknownst to Naruto, of course, the only reason Sasuke had slept later than he had was because of Naruto's seemingly endless snoring and sleeptalking. The blonde moved over, reaching out and touching Sasuke's face. The boy mumbled something and tried to pull away, stopped by the chain binding their wrists. Naruto got closer.. closer.. he could feel Sasuke's warm, slow breaths on his face. He reached out, leaned in close, their faces almost touching, and...   
  
"Hey, you ass, wake up!"   
  
Naruto yelled, shaking Sasuke violently. The dark-haired shinobi awoke with a start, his hand flying to a hole in the mattress, and Naruto soon found a kunai pressed to his throat. Naruto laughed weakly.   
  
"H.. hey, I didn't mean it.." He said, nervously. Sasuke rolled his eyes.   
  
"Don't scare me like that, dumbass."   
  
"Sorry! I didn't know you were so.. so.. _violent_ when you're woken up!"   
  
"I'm not used to having people wake me up in the morning." The Uchiha retorted, sighing and rubbing his mussed hair. "..whatever.. let's just go get breakfast."   
  
"Yay, food!" Naruto chimed brightly. As the two hopped out of bed, they straightened out their clothes. Sasuke scowled. Even if they could somehow change their clothes, it'd be difficult, seeing as they were attached and being attached to someone who was changing their clothes might prove rather.. ummm.. difficult and embarrassing, considering they couldn't go anywhere without one another.   
  
..right. Anyway.   
  
They were forced to sit next to one another at the table, and unfortunately, since Naruto's right hand was chained to Sasuke's left, Sasuke had a miserable time at breakfast. Not only did he have to sit in uncomfortably close proximity to Naruto, the Uzumaki was not, unfortunately, ambidextrous, and was forced to eat with Sasuke's hand attached to his own. So, after the miserable breakfast, the two headed out.   
  
"I think we should try and find Kakashi-sensei today.. see if he can find some exception and take it off early." Naruto said, frowning and crossing his arms to think, practically yanking Sasuke off his feet in the process. The Uchiha growled and yanked his hand back.   
  
"Yeah, well, he said this was to 'improve team morale' or some crap like that." He said, scowling. "So we'd have to act nice to each other for once."   
  
"..eww. I don't wanna be nice to you." Naruto snorteed. Sasuke rolled his eyes.   
  
"Well, would you rather be nice to me for a little while or stay chained to me for another day, _dobe_?" He asked. Naruto blinked, then considered.   
  
"Good point." He said. "C'mon, let's go!" And he dashed off, heading in no particular direction whatsoever, dragging a complaining and rather irritated Sasuke behind him.

* * *

After a long, exhausting, and yet still fruitless search, Naruto and Sasuke ended up at the exact same place they'd been before. Naruto fell to the ground, dragging the Uchiha with him. Sasuke grumbled about being pulled into the dirt, but was too tired to do anything about it.   
  
"Dammit.. Naruto.." He panted, glaring. "..blindly running all over the place didn't get us anywhere.. you couldn't stop and think about where Kakashi might _be_?!"   
  
"To hell with you, Sasuke!!" Naruto snapped back. "Kakashi-sensei could be _anywhere_! We don't know anything about him!!"   
  
Sasuke calmly pointed to the doorway of a bookstore across the street. Kakashi leaned against the entrance, flipping idly through his orange-covered book, though a faint blush could be seen on his face. Naruto darted over, dragging the still less-than-willing Sasuke behind him.   
  
"Kakashi-sensei!!" The whiskered child yelled, much louder than needbe, especially considering he was standing three feet away from the person he was yelling at.   
  
"Kakashi-sensei, we DEMAND that you let us out of these things!" Naruto jerked up his wrist to show the handcuffs, dragging Sasuke closer to him in the process. Sasuke grumbled something and struggled to keep his fist from meeting with Naruto's obnoxious face. Kakashi glanced up..or rather, down.. at them.   
  
"..I'm sorry, Naruto, did you say something?" He asked. Naruto immediately faceplanted. Sasuke sighed and decided he'd try to handle the situation.   
  
"Look, Kakashi-sensei.. we need you to detach us, please." He said. Naruto jumped up.   
  
"Yeah, yeah! See, we're good buddies now!" He latched onto Sasuke's arm. The Uchiha was vaguely reminded of Sakura, and repressed a shudder of disgust. Kakashi eyed the two boys warily, glanced back to his book a moment, and then shut it. He glanced down at the pair again, and smiled.   
  
"Well, it's nice to see that you're getting along!" He said, in that annoyingly perky tone of his. Naruto and Sasuke nodded eagerly, each waiting for their moment of freedom. Kakashi crossed his arms.   
  
"Hmmm.. I _suppose.._"   
  
"Yeah, yeah??" Naruto asked, getting more excited. Kakashi glanced at him, still smiling.   
  
"..no."   
  
Sasuke sighed heavily. He should have known it wouldn't have been this easy. He glanced at Naruto, who was turning an interesting shade of red. Sasuke blinked, and then sighed, wincing as Naruto exploded.   
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NO'?!" He screamed. Kakashi sighed and rolled his one visible eye.   
  
"No means what it means, Naruto.. last I checked, it hadn't changed." He said, sarcastically. Naruto frowned in vague confusion. Sasuke resisted the urge to hit him, and turned to Kakashi instead.   
  
"Please, Kakashi-sensei." He said, giving him a pathetic look. It didn't work, considering Sasuke had his face in a scowl most of the time, and had pretty much forgotten what a pathetic face would look like. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.   
  
"My goodness, Sasuke.. Naruto's snoring must be _pretty_ damn loud for you to try and put an expression on your face besides pissy.. in a rather pathetic attempt to get me to release you from those handcuffs." Kakashi said.   
  
Sasuke resisted the urge to hit Kakashi, too. He clenched his teeth.   
  
"You sure do like to hear yourself talk, don't you?" He snapped. Kakashi laughed softly.   
  
"Indeed, I suppose I do. Now, on your way, you two." He waved them away impatiently. "I don't have time to babysit you guys."   
  
"Hmph, _FINE._" Naruto huffed, and immediately stormed away, dragging Sasuke behind him. "We don't need you or your stupid key anyway! We'll find another way out!"   
  
Sasuke was vaguely reminded of an arguing couple. The rather disturbing image was shaken out of his mind as Kakashi called after them.   
  
"Did I mention that those handcuffs absorb chakra if you attempt to escape using jutsus?"   
  
Naruto let out a howl of rage and yanked Sasuke along roughly as he stomped away. Sasuke sighed and glanced up at a small noise. A woman was walking by with her dog. The dog was straining on its leash, struggling to get away, but the woman held it back, scolding it with a few harsh words. Sasuke looked from the dog to the woman, then to Naruto and the chain holding them together, and suddenly felt extremely sympathetic towards the animal as he was hauled away.

* * *

"Okay, well, it's worth a shot anyway.. he coulda just been bluffing, right?" Naruto asked as they sat down on a bench. The blonde had been inspecting the chain for a good twenty minutes at this point. Sasuke sighed heavily.   
  
"There's no weak point on them.. even you would have noticed one by now, _dobe._" He said. Naruto glared at him.   
  
"Well, since you're the smartypants around here, why the hell don't you try a jutsu? One of your fancy rope escapes or something??" He snapped. Sasuke sighed and formed a few seals with his hands. The chain jerked, but didn't fall away.   
  
"Kakashi was right, it does absorb chakra." The Uchiha said, blinking. He sighed. "So that was a total waste."   
  
"Then we have to try brute force!" Naruto cried, jumping up and dragging Sasuke down the road again. At this point, Sasuke just surrendered himself to it, knowing there wasn't much he could do to resist the force that was Naruto.

* * *

After several hours of attempting escape using various items such as hammers, lock picks, hairpins, pliers, screwdrivers, and whatever else Naruto could get his hands on as they ran wantonly about the village, the two finally collapsed beneath a tree on the side of the road. Sasuke growled and reached over, smacking Naruto over the head.   
  
"Ow!"   
  
"You idiot.." Sasuke panted, exhausted from all the running around they'd done. "..I can't believe you made us go over to Ino's house to get hairpins from her.. I thought she was gonna suffocate me for sure."   
  
"Yeah, well, I wish she had!" Naruto growled in reply, rubbing his head and glaring back at Sasuke. "At least then I wouldn't hafta listen to your whining!"   
  
"How stupid could you have gotten?!" Sasuke argued back. "You'd think that after we'd gone to all that trouble waiting for Konohamaru to find his 'secret place' where he hides his lock picks, and after they didn't work, you'd realize that hairpins wouldn't either!"   
  
"Oh yeah? Well, who's fault was it that we couldn't stop for lunch, huh?!" Naruto argued. Sasuke threw his hands (as well as one of Naruto's) up in disgust.   
  
"That's not even _relevant_!!" He shouted, eyes narrowed. Naruto glared right back, defiant as ever.   
  
"Yeah, well, I don't even know what that big word means! So there!" He stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha. Sasuke opened his motuh to respond to that, but remembered that one cannot win an argument with an idiot, and just sighed.   
  
"Okay, fine.. whatever. But since all that didn't work, who's house are we sleeping at tonight?" He asked, exasperatedly. Naruto considered this for a moment. Sasuke suddenly regretted giving him a choice.   
  
"My house!" Naruto proclaimed, and began dragging Sasuke in the direction of his apartment building. Sasuke resigned himself to the dog-like fate he'd been forced into once again.

* * *

"You actually.. sleep in here..?" Sasuke asked, staring agape at the huge mess that was Naruto's home as the two of them kicked off their sandals. Foam cups of ramen littered the floor, pots and pans dotted the countertops, the fridge was half-open, clothes were draped in the strangest of places, and an odd smell wafted throughout the entire apartment. The Uchiha gingerly stepped in, barely avoiding a patch of slimy mold that he could have sworn gargled at him in greeting. Naruto blinked and kicked it.   
  
"Down, Kabi!" He ordered, and then stepped further inside. He grinned back at Sasuke, who could only stare at him in disbelief.   
  
[ A/N: _Kabi_ means mold or mildew. And yes, I do realize that Naruto probably isn't as.. messy.. as I've described him, but hey. It's a humor fic. ; ]   
  
"You.. have a _name_ for it..?" Sasuke asked, dumbfounded.   
  
"Don't worry, Kabi only attacks if you smell worse than he does." Naruto said cheerfully as he began making his way across the room. He seemed to have a set path for himself, having to hop over or around piles of junk as he made his way onto a clean spot in the kitchen. Sasuke could only follow and stare in disbelief, jerking in surprise as his bare foot landed in something cold, slimy, and wet. Deciding to not ask about it, he turned and looked at the path they'd just walked in, only able to shake his head. Naruto was still grinning.   
  
"Okay! Now, the tricky part is making food.."   
  
"Naruto.. we're going to clean up your apartment, first." Sasuke said. "..I can barely breathe in here."   
  
"What?! But that'll take forever!"   
  
"Shut up and help me." Finally, the chain was useful for something. He knelt down and yanked his left arm, and Naruto toppled to the ground with him. The two of them began picking up the endless amount of foam ramen cups and garbage littered about.   
  
Two hours, fifteen garbage bags, three sponges, and two full bottles of soap later, Naruto's apartment looked normal. Well, almost normal.. Kabi insisted on staying where he was, sitting in the corner and guarding the door. (Sasuke had tried to clean it up when Naruto wasn't looking, but the thing simply wouldn't budge.) Sighing and dusting off his hands, Sasuke stood up. Naruto whined.   
  
"Can we eat nooowwwww, Sasuke?"   
  
"Yeah, yeah."   
  
"Hurray!" Naruto threw open the cabinet. Sasuke stared. Aside from a few bowls and plates, Naruto's cupboards were stocked full to bursting with ramen. The Uchiha sighed and slapped his forehead.   
  
"Should have known. Nothing but ramen. I'm surprised you haven't died yet." He muttered. Naruto turned around with a look of indignance.   
  
"Hey, that's not all I eat, y'know! I do have some powdered red bean soup and some packets of miso in here.. somewhere.. oh well, I'll find them eventually!" He said, grinning. Sasuke just shook his head.   
  
"Whatever."  
  
Naruto reached into the cupboard and pulled out four packages of chicken ramen. He set them on a counter, pulled out a pot, and began boiling water, grinning over at Sasuke.   
  
"So, what'll you be having?"

* * *

After a small dilemma concerning how they were both going to squish into Naruto's tiny bed, the two had ended up in there anyway. Naruto was against the wall, and Sasuke (uncomfortably) was half on top of him, trying not to fall off the other end. Naruto had been equally unhappy as Sasuke about this fact, but neither of them wanted to sleep on the floor. Sasuke again was being kept awake by Naruto's snoring, and sighed.   
  
"This is impossible." He muttered. "I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight, eith-- _guh_!" Naruto's foot had connected hard with his stomach, and he toppled off the tiny bed, dragging the still-unconscious Naruto down with him.. and rather inconvieniently, on top of him. Sasuke felt heat rising to his face. If that wasn't enough, Naruto was now snuggling against him, clinging to him. Sasuke tried to shove him off, but it wasn't working.   
  
"Naruto, wake up! Wake UP, damn you!" He cried. The boy's snores drowned him out. Naruto rubbed his face affectionately against Sasuke's.   
  
"Mmm.. Sasuke, don't be so stubborn.." He murmured. Sasuke flushed even brighter.   
  
"Naruto, wake up, dammit!!" He shouted, struggling. Naruto had wrapped his arms around Sasuke, and so the dark-haired shinobi's arms were pinned to his sides.   
  
"Shit, he's stronger when he's asleep.." Sasuke muttered, unable to move. Naruto's leg slid up his thigh, and Sasuke jerked, face a bright red by now. He struggled again, growling in frustration.. he was too exhausted from everything they'd done that day to perform any jutsus.. and in any case, he couldn't move his arms. So he was trapped, with the blonde child rubbing against him. Sasuke shut his eyes tightly.   
  
_I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't like this.._ He chanted in his mind, trying to ignore Naruto's cute expression as he nuzzled Sasuke's cheek again.   
  
Wait.   
  
Cute?   
  
_..aww, fuck._   
  
---**To Be Continued..**   
  
I know, the situation that poor Sasuke is in is overused, but it had to be done. XD Personally, I find it amusing (and sexy) when Sasuke's an uke.. I mean, hell, it's even in his name..   
  
::Cough.::   
  
..right. Sorry for the delay, again.. hope it was at least partially worth the wait. ;;;   
  
--TAB


	3. Tuesday

  
**Linked**   
**By The Ambitious Blank**   
****   
**Disclaimer- **Naruto isn't mine.   
**Comments- **Wow, I am honestly surprised at how many people didn't know what an uke was. n.n;;;; An uke is basically.. umm.. the recieving end of the relationship. The bottom. A seme is the top. And now that I have scarred you all for life.. ;   
  
pai-san, and Dearest-san, if you're still reading this: xD I do realize that they are young. That note at the end of my last chapter was mostly a joke. I do like Sasuke being the uke, but only if he's older and (almost) legal. (I can't see Naruto ever EVER submitting to Sasuke.. Sasuke's stubborn, but not nearly so much as Naruto is.) Besides, this is a humor fic, don't take me so seriously-! I figure if Naruto can figure out Sexy no Jutsu on his own, he can have naughty thoughts about Sasuke. And Sasuke has UKE in his name. 'nuff said. ;   
  
Wow, Kabi was a big hit. XD I thought that would make most people stop reading this fic.. pet mold, heehee..   
  
---**Tuesday- Oops...**   
****   
The resounding shout the next morning could be heard from all corners of the village as Naruto woke up to a rather unpleasant surprise.   
  
"Y.. YOU!!" Naruto shouted, having jumped to his feet, yanking Sasuke with him. "YOU WERE TRYING TO MOLEST ME, WEREN'T YOU?!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Uchiha, who sighed in exasperation.   
  
"You kicked me off the bed last night!" He snapped. As if it hadn't been hard enough getting to sleep with Naruto lying on top of him the entire time.. "And because of _this damn thing.._" He held up their chained wrists. "..you got dragged with me! Besides, if I was trying to molest you, why the hell would _you_ be on top of _me_?!" He growled, irritably. Naruto flailed his arms, the chain rattling as he did so.   
  
"How the HELL should I know?!" He shouted back. "It's probably just some sick and twisted plan of yours to confuse me! So when I woke up and found myself on top of you I would have accused you of molesting me and you would have denied it and said that was impossible because I was on top of you!" He yelled, pausing to catch his breath after that.   
  
Sasuke stared.   
  
And hit him.   
  
"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"   
  
"Nevermind, _dobe_. Can we go eat breakfast and get out of here? Today's the day that we--" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, as Naruto hauled him out of the room before he could do anything.   
  
"That's right, today's the day that we're freeeeee!" He cried, jumping over Kabi and darting out the door, even without breakfast. Sasuke made sure to dodge the gargling pet mold as he was, once again, dragged away.   
  
-----   
  
The pair finally found Kakashi sitting in a tree, flipping through the pages of his book. Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him and shouted.   
  
"KAKASHI-SENSEIII!! Today's the day you promised to take this damn thing off!" He yanked up his wrist, Sasuke making sure to not resist him like he usually did. Kakashi blinked and looked down at them.   
  
"I'm sorry, Naruto, did you say something?"   
  
Naruto gave a threatening growl as Kakashi jumped down, waving his hands.   
  
"It was a joke, Naruto, a joke." He said. As Naruto's rage meter slowly boiled back down to zero, he spoke again. "Yes, you're right, today's the day.. you two aren't getting along all that much better, I see, but.."   
  
Sasuke tried to push the memory of the previous night out of his mind.   
  
"Promises are promises." Kakashi said, and began digging around in his pocket. "Now, where did I put that key..?" He wondered aloud.   
  
Dread suddenly filled the two boys' chests.   
  
"Hmm.. not this pocket.. not this one, either.. hmm.. maybe in one of my scroll pockets..?" He pulled out various bits and weapons from his many pockets. Scrolls, shuriken, kunai, some explosion tags, a few more of his books, some lint, a piece of string, a paperclip.. and finally, a key.   
  
"Oh! This must be it, then." He said, smiling. The two boys anxiously held up their chained wrists. Kakashi reached forward to put the key into the lock, then suddenly yanked his hand back and stared at the key in his hand.   
  
"Um.. nope, sorry, that's my house key."   
  
"ARGH!" Naruto shouted, and pounced on Kakashi, digging around in his many pockets with his free hand. "NO!! You can't have lost it, Kakashi-sensei!" He yelled, leaping back when he realized he'd checked all the man's many pockets. Kakashi sighed.   
  
"Well, I'm very sorry, Naruto, Sasuke.. but I seem to have lost your key." He beamed. "But, I'll get the locksmith to make me a new one."   
  
"Should we come with you, then?" Sasuke asked, trying hard not to beat the crap out of something.. namely, Naruto, with all the screaming and flailing the blonde was doing. "I mean, they have to know what the key looks like, right?"   
  
"No, no, that won't be necessary." The silver-haired sensei said, smiling. "I have a pair of handcuffs just like yours back at my house for.. um.. other reasons." He turned and walked away, stifling a cough. Sasuke blinked.   
  
Had he just heard Kakashi say "Iruka" as he was coughing?   
  
He sighed and turned to drag Naruto away, hoping some ramen might silence him.   
  
----   
  
Kakashi watched his two students walk away and grinned to himself, ducking behind a tree and pulling down his mask, spitting a key into his hand.   
  
----   
  
"Dammit, dammit, dammit, I'm so MAD!" Naruto seethed. At least, that's how it would be coming out, if his mouth wasn't full of ramen. The current circumstance caused that sentence to come out more like "Damrf, damrf, damrif, 'm sho MAF!"   
  
Sasuke just let him rant and held out his hand, scowling as it started to go numb from Naruto yanking it around so much. The chain rattled loudly as Naruto shoved food into his mouth. The two people who worked at the ramen bar just stared at them. Neither had bothered trying to explain why they were chained together.   
  
Sasuke hadn't touched his own bowl of food, and casually pushed it toward the blonde, who picked it up and started eating without flinching. The Uchiha doubted that Naruto had even noticed it used to be Sasuke's. Sighing, he turned and glanced behind him.   
  
_So much for a 'thank you'._   
  
Naruto swallowed loudly, then spoke.   
  
"Thanks, Sasuke." He said, then kept eating.   
  
Sasuke smiled.   
  
----   
  
"Hey, Naruto.. you wanna head over to the hot springs?" Sasuke suddenly asked as the two trudged along. It was a cool afternoon. "We could both probably use the bath. I'll wash your back for you." He offered. For some reason, Naruto thanking him back at the ramen bar had cheered him up.. he hadn't minded paying the bill, even. Sasuke paused and began to wonder why he was being so nice.   
  
Naruto blinked, and considered it for a moment.   
  
"Sure." He said, nodding. Sasuke turned to begin walking in the direction of the hot spings. Naruto ran to follow, and then suddenly stopped dead, which yanked Sasuke off his feet and onto the ground. He blinked, looking up at the blonde as Naruto leaned over him.   
  
"This is just another ploy to molest me, isn't it?!" He demanded, much more loudly than needbe. Sasuke looked around. People were beginning to stare.   
  
"If I say yes, will you lower your voice??" He hissed.   
  
"HA! I KNEW IT!" Naruto declared. "YOU ARE TRYING TO MOLEST ME!!"   
  
Sasuke growled and yanked his arm, pulling Naruto onto his knees, so that the blonde was straddling his stomach. He reached up with his other hand and grabbed the front of the boy's shirt, pulling Naruto's face toward his, and glaring daggers into his eyes.   
  
"Shut the hell up, _usuratonkachi_." He hissed. "People are staring."   
  
"Then let them stare!" Naruto growled back, pulling the front of his jacket out of Sasuke's grip. "You deserve it, you ass!"   
  
"I said lower your voice, _dobe._ Can we just go to the hot springs? I'm already filthy and I want a bath." Sasuke said, irritated. Naruto glared and began to rant very loudly again. Sasuke sighed, trying to think of a way to shut him up.. more and more people had stopped to stare at them, and it was getting embarrassing. Staring up at Naruto, who was still ranting mindlessly, he thought up a way to silence him.. and without considering what consequences the said action might produce, he reached up, grabbed Naruto by the front of his jacket, and yanked him down.   
  
Sasuke kissed him.   
  
He wasn't sure why he'd done it, or how the idea had even dared enter his mind, but judging by how many people had stopped to stare, it had seemed to be one of the only courses of action he had available. Of course, he could have hit Naruto or something, but they _were_ supposed to be learning to get along.   
  
_Hmph, I think after this stunt, the whole learning-to-get-along will be one-sided.._ Sasuke mused, sighing and pulling away. Naruto's eyes were wide, and his lips moved faintly, but he wasn't making a sound. Sasuke rolled his eyes.   
  
"Well, it worked." He muttered, and then carefully pushed Naruto off him and stood up. Naruto stood with him, though his mouth was still moving aimlessly and he still hadn't spoken a word. Sasuke smirked and then glanced to the people still staring at them.. every single one of them feigned no interest. Sasuke continued down to the road toward the hot springs.   
  
----   
  
It wasn't until the pair actually got to the place before Naruto finally found his voice again.   
  
"You.. you..!!" He began, sounding as though he was going to start yelling at any moment. Sasuke glared back at him, eyes narrowed dangerously.   
  
"Quiet, _dobe._ The people here won't appreciate your loud mouth." He snapped. Naruto blinked, stared at him, then quieted. Sasuke sighed in relief.   
  
"Just come on. I'll wash your back for you if you wash mine." He said, and turned to wave Naruto inside. A few of the women at the counter stared at them, and the chain binding their wrists together, but made no comment on it, especially when Naruto shot them a dirty look.   
  
"We should kill Kakashi-sensei." Naruto muttered, and then hesitated.   
  
"Ne, Sasuke.. how are we supposed to get out of our shirts..?" He asked, frowning. Sasuke moved over to him, pulling a kunai from his leg pouch.   
  
"You got another one of those shirts at your house?" He asked, gesturing to the black tee that had served as Naruto's only shirt for the past three days. As soon as Naruto nodded and began to ask why, Sasuke put a neat cut along the bottom of his right shirt sleeve that trailed down his side. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Sasuke held the kunai out to him and held up his left arm.   
  
"I need you to do the same thing." He said. Naruto blinked, and huffed at being ordered around so much, but he reached up and put a slightly messier cut down Sasuke's shirt.   
  
"We can go back to my house tonight and I'll put a button or something there so we can change our clothes once in a while, until Kakashi-sensei gets that key." He said. Naruto grumbled, stripping out of his torn shirt.   
  
"That could be forever! I mean, he's HOURS late to team meetings and stuff! Imagine how long it'll take for him to get something done!" He complained. Sasuke shrugged.   
  
"Yeah? And what do you suppose we do about it? The more you complain, the longer he'll take, probably. For now, we'll just have to deal with what we can get." Sasuke was undoing the button to his shorts as he spoke. "C'mon, we gotta rinse off before we get into the hot spring."   
  
"I know, I know!" Naruto growled, hurrying out of his pants and trying not to stare in envy of Sasuke's form. He seemed perfectly.. well, perfect. Naruto turned away as Sasuke slid out of his boxers, resisting the urge to stare at the pale skin that was so uncaringly revealed. Sasuke turned to him, casually reaching for a towel and wrapping it around his waist.   
  
"Are you coming, _dobe_?" He asked.   
  
"Stop calling me that!" Naruto snapped in reply, throwing his boxers off and grabbing a towel, throwing it around his waist as fast as he could, then turning to follow Sasuke further inside.   
  
----   
  
A few minutes later, the two boys sank into the warmth of the springs. It was rather late in the evening, so no one was there aside from them and the attendants. Naruto sighed and sank down into the water until the only thing that showed of him was his nose upward. He grinned and said something, producing only bubbles. Sasuke raised an eyebrow down at him, but shook his head and leaned back against the rocks, his dark eyes raising toward the ceiling. The steam made the air thick and foggy, and Sasuke could feel his eyes drifting closed tiredly.   
  
"Hey, umm.. Sasuke?" Naruto spoke up. Sasuke didn't bother sitting up.   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"About earlier.. why the hell did you kiss me, anyway?" Naruto asked. "I mean.. I didn't know you liked guys.. but I guess that explains why you don't spare half a glance to Ino and Sakura. I dunno why you couldn't have just told people, I mean.. there's probably a few guys who like you too, and all that, and I--"   
  
Naruto froze as Sasuke's soft lips met with his again. Sasuke pulled back after only a second, smirking.   
  
"You don't shut up, _dobe_. That's your problem." He said. "I did it to make you shut up." He leaned back against the rocks, staring back up at the ceiling through the steam that filled the air.   
  
"Oh." Naruto mumbled. Normally he'd have some snippy reply, but that just wasn't coming to him right now. He sank back down into the water.   
  
_I shouldn't be so disappointed.. I mean, it's Sasuke. Who would wanna kiss him, anyway? _He turned around to watch the daydreaming boy for a few seconds. _He's such an ass.. probably just did it make me mad at him. But.. he coulda just told me to shut up, earlier._   
  
Naruto paused.   
  
_..erm, maybe he did. Oops. But really! There had to be some other way for him to get me to be quiet! He coulda like.. hit me or something! He didn't hafta embarrass us both in front of all those people._   
__   
He paused again.   
  
_Um, okay, maybe I did that to begin with._   
__   
Naruto sighed and glanced to Sasuke again, who was still daydreaming. He sank further into the water, suddenly disoriented and lightheaded.   
  
_Whoa.. dizzy.. I think I should get out.. but.. which way is.. out..?_   
  
Naruto turned around, glancing about. Sasuke looked up, having felt a slight tug on the chain connecting them. He'd glanced over just in time to see Naruto sink below the surface of the water. His eyes widened.   
  
"Naruto! Naruto!!" He cried, tugging the chain to see if he could get a response. Nothing.. Naruto's hand waved limply beneath the water. Sasuke took a deep breath and dove under, grabbing Naruto around the waist and heaving him out of the spring and onto the tiles, beginning to yell for help as he checked for Naruto's breathing, starting to try and pump the water out of the boy's stomach.   
  
"Dammit, Naruto! Breathe!" He said, growling. Naruto coughed up some water, but still wasn't breathing. Sasuke cursed under his breath.   
  
"CPR has to be mouth-to-mouth, doesn't it..?" He grumbled, and then pinched Naruto's nose and breathed air forcefully into his lungs. Naruto gasped and coughed violently, sitting up as Sasuke drew away. Naruto sat for a few moments, letting his fuzzy mind register his surroundings.   
  
_Okay, obviously, this isn't heaven, considering Sasuke's here.. oh, we're still at the hot springs. So.. I'm alive? What happened..? And I'm out of the water.. and naked.. and.. why do I taste Sasuke..? _He licked his lips, and scowled.   
  
_One plus one equals.._   
  
"YOU!" He shouted, pointing at Sasuke. "You tried to molest me again, didn't you?!" He demanded, startling all the attendants who had come over to help. Sasuke sighed and reached for a towel, pulling Naruto to his feet and then wrapping it around himself, grabbing another and handing it to Naruto.   
  
"I don't even wanna deal with you right now, Naruto." He said, irritatedly. Naruto frowned and and wrapped the towel around his waist. As Sasuke dragged him away, Naruto could hear the attendants whispering to each other, and did his best to ignore them. The two boys pulled all their clothes back on (sans their shirts), and Sasuke pulled Naruto out and started heading back to his house.   
  
"Sasuke, I--"   
  
"Don't even talk to me."   
  
"But.. were you the one who--"   
  
"Saved your ass? Yeah. Now shut up."   
  
"..." Naruto lowered his eyes.   
  
_I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.. I mean, Sasuke's not that kind of guy. I dunno how we ended up how we did last night, but it probably wasn't his fault to begin with. And everything else today was my fault. Still.. I wonder why he chose to kiss me instead of just hitting me. _He kept thinking about it, even as Sasuke pulled him into his house. Sasuke turned to glance at him. Naruto was being unusually quiet. Naruto looked up, his cheeks flushing faintly.   
  
"Umm.. Sasuke.. thanks. For saving me and all.. I mean.. I mean, I wouldn't have drowned or nothin'!" He quickly put in, to keep at least some of his pride intact. "..but thanks anyway."   
  
Naruto could swear the smallest of smiles had crossed Sasuke's face, but the boy turned before Naruto could get a good look at it.   
  
"Let's just go to bed, okay..?" He asked, and Naruto nodded in full agreement, the two boys sliding out of their shoes as they walked down the hall and collapsed into bed.   
  
"Try to stop snoring, if you can help it, _usuratonkachi._" Sasuke said as he rolled over to face Naruto.. unfortunately, that was the most comfortable position for them, and so they had to look each other in the face until they fell asleep. Naruto snorted, insulted.   
  
"I do _not_ snore, stupid Sasuke!" He objected. Sasuke only rolled his eyes and then closed them, falling asleep within a few seconds. Naruto smirked, thinking up a good practical joke to pull on the Uchiha in the morning, and made a note to try and wake up earlier than Sasuke.   
  
He went to bed, the smirk plastered on his face, and surprisingly enough, didn't snore this time.   
  
---**To Be Continued...**   
  
...heh. I have the most evil thing Naruto could possibly do.. we'll just have to hope he doesn't get killed because of it, heh heh.   
  
Off to work on _Kaerizaki._ Leave reviewz and feed my poetic soul! (Pfft, yeah right..)   
  
--TAB 


	4. Wednesday

  
  
**Linked**  
**By The Ambitious Blank**  
****  
**Disclaimer**- Naruto doesn't belong to me...  
**Comments**- Lalala. So.. sorry I took so long to put this out. x.x; I dunno. This fic just doesn't seem as good as Kaerizaki and all that, but somehow has managed to get more reviews at certain times. ::Scratches head.:: Ah, go figure. (I still don't understand the attractiveness of Kabi.. x.x;) Anyway.. here we go.

---**Wednesday- If Only They Knew...**

"Sasuke-kun.. Sasuke-kun, wake up.."  
  
Sasuke groaned and rolled over, tugging the wrist attached to his with him, trying to ignore the soft whispers ghosting over his ear.  
  
"Sasuke-kun.." The voice repeated. Sasuke irritatedly batted at the face so close to his, grumbling under his breath. The voice persisted.  
  
"Sasuke-kun.. wake up." A hand brushed slowly, sensuously, up his side. Sasuke shuddered and finally rolled over, opening his eyes.  
  
A sheet-white face framed with dark hair and gleaming yellow eyes met him. An inhumanly long tongue slid out from the pale lips, sliding over them.  
  
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun.." Orochimaru whispered.  
  
It took about two seconds for Sasuke to yell, lash out, and end up being dragged to the floor as his victim toppled off the bed with a string of curse words. Sasuke stared down at the boy he was now sitting on. The dark, silky hair had turned to unruly spikes of blonde, the yellow eyes replaced with shining blue, the face now much more tan.  
  
Naruto moaned in pain and tried to shove Sasuke off him, only succeeding in having Sasuke topple backward off him, and then ending up being pulled down on top of the Uchiha.  
  
"Dammit, you bastard! Can't you take a damn joke?!" Naruto demanded loudly, pinning Sasuke's arms above his head. Sasuke growled and wrenched his unchained hand away, smacking him hard across the face, earning a yelp from the Uzumaki. Naruto clutched his cheek while Sasuke snarled and fumed beneath him. The blonde growled and grabbed Sasuke's now-free wrist and pinned it over his head, too. Sasuke tried to kick him, interrupted by the door creaking open.  
  
"Sasuke-kun! The front gate was unlocked, so Ino and I thought we might--"  
  
Sakura and Ino stood in the doorway, staring. Naruto was straddling Sasuke's hips, pinning the Uchiha's wrists down against the floor. Both of them were flushed and panting faintly from their little fight. Not to mention, both of them were still shirtless from the previous evening at the hot springs.  
  
It didn't look too good.  
  
The girls remained open-mouthed and utterly silent for a good five seconds or so before both of them let out an ear-piercing shriek. Sasuke and Naruto both flinched.  
  
"N.. NARUTO! _YOU!_" Sakura snarled, suddenly resembling an angry bull. Ino wasn't any different. "First you steal Sasuke-kun's first kiss, and now you're stealing his vir--"  
  
Sasuke cut her off with a harsh glare.  
  
"We were _fighting_, Sakura." He said, irritated with this whole thing. "That's all. It's not what you think."  
  
Sakura stubbornly continued to glare at Naruto for a moment, then sighed. Ino seemed to slowly calm down as well. Sasuke shoved Naruto off him, causing the blonde to roll off to the side, ending up flat on his back next to Sasuke, the chain clanking in protest. They stood up at the same time, having practiced this more than once. Naruto rubbed his head, glaring at Sasuke. The Uchiha had turned to face the two girls.  
  
"Alright. So what do you want this early in the morning?" He asked. Ino was still staring at the handcuffs.  
  
"Umm.. can I ask what those are?" She asked, pointing. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances.. that was right, Ino hadn't seen them yet. Sakura blinked.  
  
"Ino, didn't I tell you? They have to be chained together to improve team morale or something. Kakashi-sensei's orders." She said. Ino raised a brow. Being slightly more knowledgable in these sorts of things than Sakura, she glanced at Sasuke, Naruto, and then back down at the handcuffs.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei, you said?"  
  
_That pervert!_ She thought, angrily. _What the hell is he trying to do? Obviously, he could have found a better way to do this.. this is all probably for some sick amusement of his, or something._ Crossing her arms, she glared at Sakura now.  
  
"You didn't even think about this, did you? I mean, what kind of teacher chains their kids together?!"  
  
"He said it was to improve our teamwork!" Naruto said, scowling. "Don't insult Kakashi-sensei like that! I think he knows what he's doing!"  
  
"Yeah?!" Ino shot back. "Then why is he always, unfailingly, late?! A jounin should be way more responsible than that!"  
  
"She's right, Naruto!" Sakura chimed in. "Kakashi-sensei could have found another way to do this, like.. sending us on more missions or something! What the hell is he thinking?!"  
  
The argument erupted, and Sasuke growled in frustration. The argument went on for a few minutes, when finally, he exploded.  
  
"Shut up. Shut up! Who the hell cares?!" He demanded, eyes narrowing. All three had turned to stare at him. Sasuke hardly ever raised his voice except for in battle, but he continued.  
  
"Kakashi has his own goddamn reasons, there's no point in us standing here and arguing about it." He said, glowering at them. Sakura snorted and thwapped Naruto over the back of the head.  
  
"Yeah! Sasuke-kun's right. You shouldn't argue so much, Naruto!" She snapped. Now, under normal circumstances, Sasuke would have shrugged such behavior off.. he wasn't supposed to care what happened between his teammates, so long as it didn't annoy _him_. But for some reason, today, Sakura's constant ridicule of Naruto got on his nerves. He snapped.  
  
"Sakura. Knock it off. It isn't his fault." He said sharply. Naruto stared at him, confused, and Sasuke just looked away. Sakura was shocked, her green eyes filling with tears. She hadn't ever been able to handle Sasuke's negative comments toward her very much. She turned and fled the room, Ino on her heels. Sasuke sighed and plopped down on the floor. Naruto was staring at him, blinking slowly.  
  
"Um, Sasuke?"  
  
"Yeah?" He asked, glancing up, trying his best to look annoyed. Naruto flushed a little and shifted from foot to foot.  
  
"..thanks." He said, uncomfortably. Sasuke managed to hold back the smile that nearly formed on his lips, and instead just nodded.  
  
"Yeah.. but don't get the wrong idea or anything."  
  
"Yeah." Naruto said, beaming. "Hey, just for that.. let's go get something other than ramen today."  
  
Sasuke was sure his heart stopped for a few seconds, before Naruto dragged him out the door.  
  
"H-hey! Naruto, wait, we have to go back, we're still not wearing shirts.."

* * *

They ended up (totally clothed, for once.. Sasuke had come up with a way to quickly sew a few buttons on one side of their clothing so they could still get in and out of their shirts withouot having to tear them up each time) eating at the Korean Barbeque place that Chouji liked a lot, and coincedently, also met up with Chouji, Shikamaru, and Asuma there. Chouji waved them over to their table, but told them they'd have to order their own food. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.  
  
"Idiot. Like they'd dare touch your food anyway." He mumbled, glancing up to Asuma. He had his head down on the table, and wasn't eating anything. Naruto decided he must've just been too lazy to eat, or was too afraid of reaching for some of Chouji's food and getting his arm either ripped or chewed off as a result.  
  
Asuma chuckled.  
  
"No indeed.. mess with Chouji's food and you're as good as dead."  
  
"Are you even supposed to be smoking in this restaurant?" Shikamaru asked, glancing up at Asuma, who just shrugged. Naruto and Sasuke took their seats in the booth, facing the other three. Shikamaru sighed and pulled a small, magnetic Go board out of his pocket, unfolding it and setting it down, looking up to Sasuke.  
  
"Wanna play a round? I really need something to distract me from Chouji's noisy eating."  
  
"Um, sure." Sasuke said. Somehow, the other three hadn't noticed the fact that the two boys were chained together. Of course, Naruto, being the tactless blonde he was, seemed to completely forget about it, and raised his hand and called noisily for the waitress. The chain rattled loudly, and several people, including the three in front of them (sans Chouji, who was still totally immersed in his food), stared.  
  
"Er, Naruto? Dare I ask why you and Sasuke, of all people, are chained together?" Shikamaru asked, forgetting the Go board for a moment. Sasuke sighed and put his hand to his face.  
  
"Oh, this? It's just some wierd mission from Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, scowling up at the chain, and the pale left hand that was still chained to his right. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, not bothering to ask for further explanation than that. The waitress slowly approached them, notepad in hand.  
  
"Can I take your order?" She asked, as politely as she could, trying not to stare. Naruto nodded.  
  
"I'll have whatever he's having." He pointed at Chouji. He glanced to Sasuke next. "Wanna share it with me? No way I can eat all that.. it'll save us some money, too." He smiled.  
  
"Uhh.. s-sure." Sasuke said, nodding, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Asuma smirked inwardly as he saw this. Kakashi had been taking bets on how long it would be before the two of them got together. Asuma had given it another two days, and at the rate it was going, it seemed like he would win.  
  
The waitress hurried off (though whether she was really busy or if she just wanted to get as far away as possible from them wasn't certain), and Shikamaru and Sasuke started up their game of Go. Shikamaru won by a large margin, though he was impressed at how long Sasuke stayed in the game. Their food had come during the middle of it, so Shikamaru guessed the dark-haired boy would have lasted even longer, had it not been for the constant yanking of his wrist as Naruto reached for his food. Sasuke ate very little, and slowly, while Naruto stuffed his face. However, whenever they were about to finish off a batch of beef, Naruto would always offer the last piece to Sasuke before he took it, and Sasuke always looked away, his cheeks coloring slightly, as he refused it.  
  
Chouji polished off whatever they didn't eat, and Naruto and Sasuke left, saying their goodbyes, trying to ignore the stares at their wrists they got as they left the restaurant.  
  
Shikamaru turned to Asuma.  
  
"I'll give it one day." He said, smirking.

* * *

"Ha! Check that out, Akamaru.. what Sakura and Ino were talking about was right! Those two really are stuck together!"  
  
The rest of the day had been uneventful until now. Sasuke and Naruto were walking back to Naruto's house, when harsh laughter followed by a series of loud yips sounded from behind them. Sasuke twitched in irritation. This was _so_ not the time..  
  
Naruto turned around, ready to fight, as he always was, his blood pressure rising. Sure enough, Kiba and his team were standing there. Kiba had his arms crossed, an arrogant smirk on his face as he looked at the two of them. Sasuke scowled. He hated Kiba.. he was so loud, so obnoxious, so arrogant..  
  
Well, then again, so was Naruto..  
  
Speaking of Naruto, the blonde shinobi was already shouting back an insult.  
  
"Shut up, dogface! At least we don't SMELL like a dirty wet dog all the time, like you do!"  
  
"Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it.." Hinata said nervously, shifting on her feet. Sasuke raised a brow. Hinata was too quiet. But Naruto was thick, never noticing how much she liked him.  
  
Shino was standing there, looking bored. Well, not that they could tell he was looking bored, considering his face and eyes were covered. He just wasn't moving. Kiba snorted.  
  
"Well, at least I'm not a total dunce like you are!" He yelled back at Naruto. The Uzumaki boy snarled and stepped forward. Sasuke felt a surge of anger for some reason, and, unbidden, the possessive thought of "Only _I'm_ allowed to call him that.." flashed through his mind. Confused by this, he put a hand to his head, sighing. He ran the hand through his hair, then turned back to watch the exchange of insults.  
  
"You say that again, you bastard, and I'll fucking kill you!" Naruto growled out. Kiba laughed again, mockingly.  
  
"Is that so, idiot? I'd like to see you try, with that stupid prettyboy chained to you!" He said, smirking. Naruto fumed angrily, his fist clenching. Sasuke looked up, his eyes flashing to the red of the Sharingan.  
  
"..say that again, Kiba." He said, challengingly, eyes blazing. Hinata backed away, and Shino seemed to perk up a little. Naruto smirked at Kiba, reaching forward and poking him hard in the chest.  
  
"I'll betcha _you're_ just jealous because you _don't_ have a prettyboy chained to you!" He said, smirking. Hinata blinked and flushed, looking away. One could practically hear (as they couldn't see) Shino's eyeroll, and Kiba just stared in astonishment.  
  
"You mean.. you and Uchiha.. you're.."  
  
"Maybe we _are_." Naruto said proudly, crossing his arms. Sasuke was now staring, agape, at him. Kiba stepped back, mouth open wide. Kurenai suddenly appeared behind her team, whistling at them.  
  
"Oi, you three. Stop messing around, we have some D-rank missions we have to complete." She said. Kiba groaned.  
  
"Not more of them.. can't we at least have a B-Rank? C-Rank?" He whined, and Akamaru barked in agreement. Kurenai shook her head.  
  
"Sorry guys. Sasuke, Naruto, carry on. Sorry if my team.." Here she paused, smacking Kiba's head. "..caused you any trouble." She waved and headed off, the three others running ahead of her. She slowed as she passed a tree, smiling as she whispered to a shadowy figure leaning against the trunk.  
  
"I'll give them 'til tomorrow." She said, and then kept walking.  
  
Kakashi grinned and gave her a thumbs up, then vanished.

* * *

"Wh-what'd you say all that for?!" Sasuke demanded as they entered Naruto's house, a flush painting his cheeks. Kabi greeted them with a small gurgle, and they stepped past the mold as they spoke to one another.  
  
"Well, I mean, I've been thinking.. after all that stuff at the hot springs and whatnot, I got to think about it for a while, and.. I dunno. I guess the idea of being your.. boyfriend, or whatever.. it didn't bother me all that much." Naruto turned around, a smile on his face, moving closer to his dark-haired teammate. Sasuke was still blushing, and Naruto smirked inwardly.  
  
_He's almost cute like that._  
__  
"I.. umm.." Sasuke stammered, shifting on his feet. His instincts were telling him to find some way out of this.. emotions made him unstable.  
  
"Look! A-all that stuff at the hot springs, that wasn't anything! That didn't mean anything! I was just.. I was just trying to piss you off or something." He blurted out, looking away and glaring at the wall. Naruto blinked, stepping back, looking horribly disappointed, but making a valiant effort to hide it.  
  
"O-oh. Well.." He said, uncomfortably. Sasuke felt a surge of guilt from all of that, but struggled to repress it.  
  
"Yeah. I.. I didn't.. I didn't think you'd be dumb enough to get the wrong idea." He said, turning away. Naruto lowered his eyes.  
  
"U-um.. yeah.. I.. I guess it was pretty dumb of me, huh?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. "I.. I just thought that.. oh, nevermind.. I'm tired. Let's just go to bed.."  
  
"You don't want any dinner?" Sasuke asked, brows furrowing in slight concern.  
  
"Not really hungry." Naruto said, still refusing to meet Sasuke's eyes. "If you want something, we can eat, but.."  
  
"Uh.. I'm not all that hungry, either." The Uchiha said quietly. Naruto nodded.  
  
"Okay. Well, bed it is, then."  
  
They took a few minutes to get themselves ready, and then crammed into Naruto's small bed. Sasuke sighed as Naruto rolled over, facing away from him. Sasuke closed his eyes, biting his lip. He still felt guilt at what he'd said..  
  
Well, maybe he could remedy it all in the morning.  
  
Shifting closer to Naruto's warmth, he closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.  
  
---**To Be Continued...**  
  
It's amazing how boredom can inspire you.  
  
Anyway, I'm thinking next chapter shall be the last. n.n; I'm barely able to keep up with updating this fic at all.. don't worry, I've got a good ending in mind, and I'll try to make the chapter good, too. Heehee.  
  
Off to work on _Kaerizaki_ next.. uwaa, so much to do..  
  
--TAB


	5. Thursday

**Linked**

**By The Ambitious Blank**

**Disclaimer**- Naruto isn't mine.

**---Thursday- And So It Ends…**

"Mmnh..."

Sasuke awoke to the soft noises that Naruto was making, blinking tiredly, the world swirling and dimming as they adjusted to the morning light streaming in through Naruto's window. He blinked a few more times, trying to clear his vision. Naruto grumbled something, and Sasuke turned his head to look at the sleeping blonde.

"Sasuke, you bastard..." Naruto groaned, rolling over so his face was toward Sasuke. For a moment, the muscles in his face relaxed, and he shifted a little, moving closer to Sasuke's warm body. Sasuke felt his face warm slightly at how close Naruto's face was getting, and he scooted back. Naruto grumbled again.

"Won't... let you win..."

Sasuke scowled, reaching over to wake Naruto up, not particularly wanting to listen to all this for the rest of the morning until the Uzumaki finally awoke. He sighed, grasping Naruto's shoulder. Naruto suddenly smacked his hand away violently, and formed a seal with his hands. Sasuke flinched.

"I'll defeat you... Oiroke no Jutsu!"

"Shi--!!" Sasuke didn't have time to leap back, as suddenly a rather large-chested, fully naked girl appeared in Naruto's place. The smoke cleared, and Sasuke deadpanned. Naruto had fallen back asleep again, but remained in the form of the girl. He sighed, reaching over to shake him... her... whatever... again. But this time, he had a completely different reaction. Naruto (or would it be Naru_ko_?) grabbed his wrist in a much firmer grip than she seemed she would have, and dragged him forward, holding him tightly to her. Sasuke's face was pressed into her chest, which was a rather uncomfortable position for him. She muttered something incoherent and continued to snore and drool, her grip on the Uchiha tight and unrelenting. Sasuke squirmed and struggled, trying to get away, but the more she squirmed, the tighter she held him, and the less he could breathe. Finally, he sighed and sulked, though... it was rather difficult to sulk when his face was pressed into a woman's chest.

_Crap... crap... you know, Naruto, for most guys, this would be a turn-on, but this is _not_ funny..._

Sasuke paused, rethinking that statement. If he were a normal boy, wouldn't he be enjoying this sort of thing?

_I mean, most anyone else would. Except maybe Iruka, but Iruka's with Kakashi, so..._

Argh, did that mean he liked boys?

His face flushed, and not because of the closeness of the other body. Deciding to stop that train of thought before it went any farther, Sasuke sighed and tried to shift into a position where he could breathe more easily. He looked up at the sleeping girl's face, and suddenly those bright blue eyes shot open. It took Naruto perhaps half a second to realize what was going on, before he immediately transformed back into his normal form, his cheeks coloring as he noticed he was still holding Sasuke against him. Another half a second, and then he shoved the darker-haired boy away from him, making Sasuke topple off the bed and land with a thunk on the floor.

"Wh-what the hell?!" Naruto yelped, his face still a deep red color. Sasuke was cringing, waiting for the blonde to land on top of him when the handcuff dragged the Uzumaki down with him, when he suddenly noticed that there wasn't any strain on his wrist anymore. He blinked, looking down at his left wrist, scowling in faint confusion.

The chain was gone.

Staring, Sasuke's eyes widened as he gaped incredulously at his freed, pale wrist. Naruto seemed to have realized the same thing, when he didn't end up on top of Sasuke a few seconds after he'd shoved the Uchiha away.

"Uhm... Sasuke..?" He said, slowly. Sasuke answered, just as cautiously, as if they both thought that if they rejoiced, the chain would just reappear.

"I know, Naruto," Sasuke said, frowning, "Kakashi must have snuck in during the night and freed us. But... why?"

"Well, we were getting along better yesterday," Naruto answered.

_At least until we got back here... _Naruto thought, wilting at the memory of his cold rejection the previous night. Sasuke was thinking the same thing, his cheeks flushing in shame.

"Well, uh..." Naruto began, ending the awkward silence quickly, "Maybe we should go try to find Kakashi-sensei and ask him what's up?" He suggested. Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan."

The two of them stepped off together, more out of habit by now than anything else, and when they realized what they were doing, Naruto grinned sheepishly and took the initiative, leading Sasuke out of the apartment. Kabi growled in goodbye as the two of them passed, and Sasuke closed the door behind them, Naruto locked it quickly, and they ran off.

Three hours passed, and it was proving to be yet another futile search for the silver-haired Sensei. He was nowhere to be found, as usual... Naruto and Sasuke had even tried splitting up, but it hadn't worked. They met again, both of them tired and panting by this time.

"Usuratonkachi..." Sasuke hissed under his breath, "That was a waste of time."

"I know, I know, Sasuke! Stop being so dumb!" Naruto shot back angrily, trying to catch his breath. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Look who's talking," he growled.

"It's not my fault we couldn't find him!!" Naruto shouted back, blue eyes burning with rage. How could Sasuke even dare do this now?!

_It's totally NOT my fault I'm on edge because he rejected me after I finally realized what I was feeling!! _Naruto thought angrily, and then faltered despairingly. _I mean, he completely led me on, the stupid bastard! It's not my fault I fell for it... it's... it's not my fault I thought he'd actually care about me.._ His shoulders slumped.

Sasuke watched the expressions change on the blonde's face, the blue eyes swirling with varying emotion as each thought passed through Naruto's mind. He frowned a bit.

_Maybe I was a little too harsh on that last night. I mean, it's not like I was honest about everything. I-- I care about him, I really do, it's just... I can't admit it. I shouldn't. _

Click.

The two boys' heads snapped up as they felt cold metal enclose their wrists in a terrifyingly familiar fashion. They looked down to see the exact same pair of handcuffs being snapped around their wrists, and looked behind them to see Kakashi standing there, smiling down at them.

"Well, it looks like you two need a bit more time, hmm?" He asked, almost lazily. Both boys opened their mouths to protest, but Kakashi only chuckled and patted them both on the head.

"Maa, maa, let's not get angry again. Just learn to get along, you two. Try to be good friends by the end of the day and I'll take them off again."

The two shinobi exchanged glances as their sensei vanished in a puff of smoke, and both of them groaned simultaneously and dropped to their knees on the ground. 

"Well, shit." Naruto muttered, rubbing his head.

"Not again…" Sasuke moaned, running a hand through his hair. The pair glared at each other, "hmph"ed, and turned away. 

They were right back where they started from.

----

"This sucks, this sucks, this SUCKS!" Naruto whined as they walked down the road. Sasuke sighed, irritated.

"Shut up, dobe. At least we get until the end of the day... he did promise to take them off again by then," he said, staring at the ground as they walked. Naruto stopped and yanked him back.

"Yeah? Well, what are we supposed to do to prove that we're 'getting along' or whatever??" He demanded, glaring, "Don't expect me to make out with you or anything, prettyboy!" He snapped, only realizing what he'd said two seconds after he'd said it. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Why the hell do you have to keep bringing that up?" He growled out. Naruto's heart pounded hard in his chest... he'd spoken too quickly, he hadn't thought about what he was going to say... none of that seemed like a valid excuse...

Naruto's mind ran a mile a minute as he struggled to think of a way to keep the Uchiha from pounding him into the dirt right then and there. Sasuke had raised a hand, and Naruto flinched away like a scared dog, but Sasuke took a deep breath and lowered his hand.

"Sorry," he muttered. The blonde looked up from where he'd been hiding his face. Sasuke looked... guilty? Blinking, Naruto straightened himself and tried to brush off the apology.

"It... it's fine," he said, trying to keep his composure, but knowing he was failing miserably in that department. The Uchiha was still refusing to meet his eyes and was staring at the ground uncomfortably. It wasn't like he was one for apologizing.

There was a long, drawn-out silence, where neither ninja could find anything to say. Naruto spoke first, always having hated those uncomfortable silences.

"Can we just... go back to your house for a little while or something?" He suggested, and Sasuke nodded, eager for something else to do besides stand there in such a tense silence. So, the pair walked down the street, heading back toward the Uchiha manor where they could brainstorm a way to get out of this situation for a second time. Once they reached the house, Sasuke unlocked the gate and they headed inside, removing their sandals with practiced ease despite the chain around their wrists (they were fairly accustomed to it by now) and stepping up onto the carefully polished wooden floors of the house.

"Want anything to eat?" The Uchiha asked, quietly. His tone was careful; as though he were afraid Naruto would explode or break down at any second. Naruto frowned at that, but didn't comment on it, instead asking for some ramen, and the two went to the kitchen together to make the food. They moved quickly, Sasuke got out the packages of the noodles, while Naruto ducked down a few feet away to pull out a cooking pot and a measuring cup. Not once did either of them yank the chain too hard or have to pull the other in one direction or another. They'd gotten so used to being chained together that all their motion was fluid and everything came so easily to them it was almost like they'd been like that forever.

Sasuke had noticed the ease of the motions, even if it was just something simple like making two batches of ramen. Not once had either of them had to snap at each other for any reason. Sasuke leaned casually against the counter, while Naruto kept an eye on the pot, waiting for the water to boil.

"Ne… Sasuke?" Naruto began, awkwardly. Sasuke glanced up, having calmed down from earlier.

"Aa?" He asked.

Naruto bit his lip. He wanted so badly to ask if Sasuke had meant all those things he'd said the previous night. He wanted to try and make those boastful things he'd said to Kiba true. He hated the coldness that always surrounded Sasuke. The Uchiha was the only one that he really wanted to acknowledge him at the moment… before, he would have taken anyone to just smile at him and tell him he was doing fine, that he'd be a great Hokage someday. Now, all he wanted was Sasuke's approval. Not even a compliment, not even a single word needed to be said… he just wanted to see something other than that awful, disapproving scowl. He just wanted a small, honest smile. A smile that meant he was more to the Uchiha than just some bothersome usuratonkachi. Naruto felt his shoulders slump slightly.

_I think all of that is just wishful thinking…_

"What? What do you want? Don't just stand there and stare at nothing, idiot." Sasuke said, frowning as he studied the oddly thoughtful look on Naruto's face, noticing the slight decline of his shoulders and the way his blue eyes suddenly weren't shimmering with that typical optimism and boundless energy the blonde usually possessed.

"Nevermind, Sasuke..." The Uzumaki said quietly, staring hard at the ground. Who was he kidding? He'd never be able to say stuff like that to his cold-hearted companion. Sasuke had made it very clear what he felt for Naruto, and what he felt was nothing but that stupid rivalry they'd had ever since the day they'd been put on the same team.

Sasuke ran his free hand through his hair. He sighed.

"Really, usuratonkachi, you shouldn't do things like that. It's rude."

"Sorry," Naruto said, still not looking up. The Uchiha raised a brow in concern. It wasn't like the blonde to be so down. It concerned him, and he idly wondered if his strange behavior all of a sudden was a result of the things he'd said last night. He felt his heart clench tightly in his chest and winced, lightly touching the place over his heart. He glanced back at Naruto, whose eyes were still downcast. He looked so sad; it was almost painful to look at him.

Well, it wasn't like Sasuke had been exactly honest last night. He'd been a little freaked out, was all. Emotions scared him. He wasn't used to them, wasn't used to feeling anything but that burning hatred and icy temper he'd carried with him for so long.

Naruto was so different from anyone else he'd met. Naruto didn't fall all over him and go starry-eyed whenever Sasuke so much as glanced in his direction. Naruto didn't squeal if Sasuke said something to him, didn't try to flatter him with compliments, and he certainly didn't try to change himself or his opinions just for Sasuke's approval. It wasn't like what all the girls did.

Sakura and Ino would always do idiotic things just try and get Sasuke's attention. They'd agree with him in a heartbeat, no matter what he said. They'd try to say things to gain his favor, try to impress him with their stupid womanly antics. But Naruto never did anything like that. No, Naruto was always himself around everyone, especially Sasuke… and if Sasuke refused to pay any heed to him then, he wouldn't change, he just kept persisting. But he never once changed himself, never once backed down, and never once faltered. Even when he was threatened with losing Sasuke's interest in him, he never showed a trace of fear. Sasuke… admired that determination.

But it was more than just admiration for Naruto's persistence and his stubbornness. There was something more to Naruto that managed to catch Sasuke's eye. Perhaps it was the shining blue eyes that were always glimmering with boundless energy and happiness, or the way he would smile whenever he ran to morning meetings, even if it was always for Sakura, rather than him.

_Naruto, I…_

"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice was speaking before the Uchiha had a chance to stop it.

…_I think that I really do…_

Naruto looked up, blinking when Sasuke was suddenly standing right in front of him, their faces close and noses almost touching.

…_like you._

Suddenly, Sasuke's lips were covering Naruto's. The blonde felt his heart stop for a few good seconds in his chest, and then begin pounding so hard he was sure Sasuke could hear it. But Sasuke's heart was pounding away as well. He let his arms slide around the Uzumaki's waist, drawing him closer. Naruto could feel his lungs running out of breath, but he couldn't have cared less. Sasuke was so warm, and his lips were so soft… he felt like he could lose himself in those strong arms. He leaned up, kissing back, albeit a bit awkwardly, but Sasuke smirked lightly against his lips and pressed closer.

The pot on the stove hissed as it began to boil over, but neither of the boys paid it any heed.

---

"You see, Iruka-sensei? I told you they liked each other."

"I… umm…"

"Aww, you're cute when you blush like that."

"S-shut up, Kakashi!!"

"We should leave before they catch us out here."

"I feel like some sort of stalker!!"

"I've got to go catch everyone, anyway, and collect my money for this."

---

The two went out later in the evening after they'd cleaned up the water that had boiled over from the forgotten pot on the stove. The sun was almost setting, and they walked down the street, fingers intertwined with one another's.

There was a soft click, and both boys turned and looked up. Kakashi was standing there, holding up the handcuffs in a hand, having released them from the two wrists. He dropped the cuffs into Sasuke's hands, smiling from beneath his mask.

"Well, congratulations, you two. I'd say you've learned to get along pretty well," he said, patting them both on the head. Noticing the fact that a few bills were hanging out of his pocket, he quickly stuffed them back down with a sheepish grin.

"Anyway, good work and good luck explaining this to Sakura!" He beamed and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"O-OI!! Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto cried, reaching out to stop him, but grabbed nothing but air. He sighed.

"Well, that was… weird." Sasuke commented, looking down at the pair of handcuffs in his hand.

"Nothing we shouldn't expect from Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said sourly, moving close to Sasuke and wrapping his arms around the Uchiha's slim hips, "You should have kissed me sooner."

"I did," Sasuke pointed out, "Remember that day at the Academy?"

"Oh, yeah. That didn't count!" Naruto said, beaming and leaning up to peck Sasuke's lips again. Sasuke smiled and then looked back down at the cuffs in his hand… and suddenly, an impish smirk overcame his features as he looked back to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto… you didn't happen to see how Kakashi-sensei got these off us, did you?"

"Well, no, Sasuke, why—KYAH!!" Naruto's question was abruptly cut off as Sasuke snapped the cuffs back onto their wrists and tackled him to the ground.

This time, Naruto didn't complain.

---**Fin.**

**Author's Comments**- So, how was it? Not too terrible, I hope. Apologies for how short this chapter is, I tried to make it longer, but if I added anything else it would have seemed stupid. ; Also, credit for coming up with how to end this fic goes to The Carpet Shampoo (sankyuu)

KAH! I'm finally done with this one, and it's good to put it to rest, because now I can focus on _Kaerizaki _and also start up a few more ideas I've been planning for a long time. So, please leave some reviews, and see you again soon!

-TAB


End file.
